Ivanka Trump Sued for Allegedly Making Shoe Knock-Offs (Photos)

By: Mackenzie Wright | June 24, 2016

Ivanka Trump has supposedly inherited her sharp nose for business from her father, Donald (who is currently busy with other pursuits). Some are not surprised, then, to find that controversy has erupted over her shoe line.

The luxury footwear company Aquazzura has filed a lawsuit against Trump, accusing her of copying their designs. According to the lawsuit, 'repeated infringement' and 'deceptive trade practices' by Trump has been an ongoing problem.

Aquazzura complains that Trump carries several shoe designs that are suspiciously similar to popular styles designed by the company. Their most recent complaint is that the Trump Hettie Shoe, a red sling-back heel with tassels, is almost an exact duplicate of the Aquazzura Wild Thing shoe.

The Hettie sells for around $150, while the Wild Thing sells for more than $700.

“[The Hettie shoe] is representative of a trending fashion style, is not subject to intellectual property law protection and there are similar styles made by several major brands,” said CFO of Marc Fisher, a different shoe designer, to the Huffington Post in a comment. “The lawsuit is without merit and we will vigorously defend ourselves against the claim.”

“I have nothing against Ivanka Trump,” said Aquazzura shoe designer Edgardo Osorio, who has been complaining on Twitter for months about other shoe companies stealing his design. “It’s not only her, and I’m glad to [call others out on Instagram also]. I plan to do the same with Steve Madden and other people who have ripped us off.... Sometimes I look at the buys in department stores, and I see copies of my shoes. We need to be harder with our retailers. They need to protect us. You can’t cannibalize one business with another.”